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Ineru 23- Fibreru 20, 2023 January 23- February 20, 2023
Volume VI Issue 1
Pulan Tumaiguini
As the pulan, Tumaiguini, kicks off the new lunar year, it also marks the beginning of the voyaging season in our region which lasts up until the month of April. Tumaiguini translates as “This is the way,” or “Like this,” reminding us that understanding how things are or came to be requires looking back and remembering. Image: Waning Pulan• Raymond D. Anderson
The moon plays a deeply important role throughout Biba Sinahi! Oceania. The phases and cycles of the moon influence
The use of the lunar calendar speaks volumes about how the people of our island chain viewed themselves in respect to nature. Rather than fighting the forces of nature, the CHamoru/Chamorro people saw themselves as part of it, structuring the activities of daily life around different lunar months in order to work in tandem with the world around them. Different moons would signal a number of things such as the time to catch certain fish, when to begin planting certain crops, and even when to begin preparations for incoming typhoons. Even the phases of the moon have importance, as many weavers choose to pick their leaves under the light of a full moon. The influence of the lunar calendar is maintained today by the fishermen and farmers who still catch fish and plant the same seeds as their ancestors have for thousands of years.
much of ocean life, from the spawning of coral polyps, to the migration patterns of sea turtles, to the rising and falling of the tides themselves. Settlers throughout the Pacific identified this connection between nature and the moon, using it as a way to keep track of seasons. In the Marianas, the year was divided into 13 complete cycles of the moon to create a lunar calendar. The lunar calendar consists of the 13 months: Tumaiguini, Maimo’, Umatalaf, Lumuhu, Makmamao, Mananaf, Semu, Tenhos, Lumamlam, Fanguallo’, Sumongsong, Umayanggan,and Umagahaf.
Image: Litekyan (Ritidian) Star Calender Petroglyph •Chad Filipiak, 2012